Joe:
We would like to welcome Julie Gattis to our forum here on the Homeschoolzone. She is the co-author of the McGraw Hill Homeschooling Companion. Julie and her husband Mike, homeschooled their four children. She took her experience and collaborated with her co-author Laura Saba to create a book which is a comprehensive guide containing vital information. In this interview and FREE excerpt from her book, Julie shares with us some of her insights on what it takes for a parent to be "qualified to homeschool" and also some tips on educating children with special needs.

Julie, why do think that parents are choosing the homeschooling option are making it a more popular option than ever before?

Julie:
Thanks for inviting me!

More and more parents around the country are embracing the commitment to homeschool their children. Some want to give their children a wider range of experiences than a conventional classroom can provide, while others like the idea of the benefits of one-on-one instruction. Others simply want to enjoy a more meaningful relationship with their children. The reasons are as numerous as the parents involved. Homeschooling can be a daring commitment. But with the right tools and techniques, it is also incredibly rewarding for both you and your children.

Joe:
How do think your book can be particularly helpful to homeschooling parents?

My book is a reference you can turn to throughout your new educational journey, and will give you the hints on making the most of this exciting experience! Whether you're in the early stages of researching homeschooling, or you're ready to start your own classroom, The McGraw-Hill Homeschooling Companion is the essential resource. It contains vital information, from whether it's the best alternative for you, to covering the important details on particular subjects for all grade levels. We cover many areas such as:

• Making the decision:
  Whether this exciting educational alternative is possible for you
• How to get started:
  Your approach, schedules, and costs
• Information on state legal requirements
  including attendance records and lesson plans
• Core subject chapters
  (mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies) as well as phys ed, art, foreign language, and music
• Practical advice
  on balancing in-home education with life in the outside world
• "What will the neighbors say?"
  staying confident in the face of criticism
• Required standardized testing
  and an appendix of colleges that accept homeschooled students
• Current websites and other resources
  to help you provide the best education possible

Are You Qualified to Homeschool?
by Julie Gattis

"Are You Qualified to Homeschool?" by Julie Gattis is excerpted from "McGraw Hill homeschool Companion" with permission of the author & McGraw Hill. ©2002 All rights reserved and may not be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the author.

Schoolteachers typically prepare for their jobs through years of academic course work, and practical student teaching experiences. So, how can parents with no teaching background expect to do a job that others do only after a good deal of formal preparation? We have a couple of answers to that question. The first is that homeschoolers don't do the same job as classroom teachers. A teacher is charged with the monumental task of imparting specific skills and knowledge to a large group of students from varied backgrounds who have a wide range of abilities, and learning styles. Some children in the typical classroom will have embraced a love of learning, supported by their parents, while others may come from homes in which parents are too busy struggling to make ends meet, or dealing with personal crises to find the time to foster a love of learning in their children.

However, homeschooling parents are fortunate in that they don't have to be able to teach a classroom filled by a diverse group of kids. They only have to manage one or at most several children, and not necessarily all at once if they arrange their day well.  Schoolteachers have to spend a large portion of their classroom time maintaining order and addressing a variety of needs and assists amongst their students. If a student misbehaves in a way that requires a disciplinary action be taken, there are policies and procedures to be followed, and then there is the possibility that the parents of the disruptive student won't support the teacher's efforts to improve the child?s classroom behavior. The homeschooling parent, on the other hand, can eliminate most discipline problems that might interfere with learning, by incorporating some basic skills of good parenting, such as enforcing limits on inappropriate behaviors, developing a firm but kind approach to discipline, and ensuring that the child carry out his or her responsibilities.

Additionally, schoolteachers have to follow a prescribed program, and stay reasonably on schedule. They are under a lot of pressure to teach as efficiently as possible, while trying to pace things so as not to 'lose' a faster or slower student along the way. Classroom time is precious, and if a teacher's methods are ineffective, a group of kids might fail to acquire certain skills. The homeschooling parent, on the other hand, doesn't have to work within these time constraints, and no dire consequences occur if the parent?s first attempts to teach long division fail dismally. There?s plenty of time to try another approach, and to continue to do so until it is mastered, without much worry as to whether you are slowing down others. As you can see, a homeschooling parent help their child learn, without having to worry about many of the issues a schoolteacher must face.

It has been found that one on one instruction can usually be accomplished in a fraction of the time needed to teach a diverse group of students the same material, and the parent can adjust the amount of time spent working on the different subjects to best suit the learning needs of the child. If a child has trouble understanding how to do a type of math problem, there's no need to move on to the next concept until the child has mastered the current one.

If you'd like to better prepare yourself, though, do as many homeschooling parents do-read books about homeschooling, and  talk to experienced homeschoolers to get a feel for how they approach it. Keep your mind open, and be prepared for some trial and error before you discover the method that works best for your family. You may fumble a little, or even a lot, at first, but over time you will come to know your child?s academic strengths and weaknesses, and realize you've come to know better than anyone else how to 'reach' your child.

Does this mean you are a fully qualified teacher?
Yes and no.

You likely haven't learned some of what a schoolteacher knows, however, as you have seen, you don't need many of those skills in your circumstances, anyway. So, while you may not be qualified to lead a diverse class in their education, you will discover that the combination of your dedication, enthusiasm, and the right resources can lead you to be a very successful, and highly qualified homeschooling parent-and ultimately, this is all the qualification you need.

Can I homeschool my child
who has special needs?

My personal opinion is that these are the kids who have the most to gain from homeschooling. Some people are troubled by the labeling of children as "learning disabled," preferring to use the term, "learning differences" instead. Semantics really doesn't matter in this discussion, anyway, just so long as you understand to whom I'm referring when I say "these kids." By "these kids," I mean children who just don't do well in a traditional classroom setting for any number of reasons.

There are many reasons a child may fail to thrive in school.It might be because her brain works a little differently from those of her peers, so she doesn't learn to read as easily as the other kids in her grade.It might be because he's extremely active and can't stay in his seat long enough to do pencil and paper assignments. A very bright child might be driven nuts by the boredom of having to do work too easy or repetitive. A child might have physical or mental health problems that interfere with classroom learning, and I could go on and on...

If your child has special needs, you may need to arm yourself with information to help you to devise the best strategies for helping your child learn comfortably and effectively.

Dr. Mel Levine discusses differences in ways of learning amongst children, and how our schools fail to account for these individual differences when designing their educational programs. If your child isn't doing well in school, this book can probably help you to understand what is going on.

Even if you detest the labeling of kids as having, 'dyslexia' or ' ADHD' or the like, you might want to do some learning about these conditions. There are all sorts of practical tips and tricks for helping children learn when they are having difficulty learning, and LD websites, books, and/or LD teachers can give you lots of practical suggestions for helping your child learn.Of course, in the homeschool setting, you have the advantage of being able to try many different approaches until you find one that suits your child's learning styles.

Homeschooling offers this child the advantage of receiving a great deal of individual attention in a safe, non-threatening, encouraging environment. Certainly, good LD teachers in schools strive to provide this sort of learning environment as well, but they can't control much of what goes on outside their own classrooms. Homeschooling can prevent the child from being slapped with the stigma of being in the LD class. Since homeschooling frees kids from most comparison with their agemates, it's entirely possible that these kids never even realize that their learning progresses more slowly or differently than the norm. At home, the parent can cultivate the child's strengths, and help the kid experience some successes, so that he will develop a can-do attitude, instead of thinking of himself as just "an LD kid."

Comments

Homeschooling an advanced child
From: Dianne

Dear Julie,
I have a 12 year old daughter who will be entering 8th grade in the fall. I am seriously considering home schooling her. In March of this year, she took a series of tests called Stanford 9's, the feedback from these was really eye opening. According to their standards, she is reading comprehension is post high school, vocabulary skills at 10th grade level,math solving levels at 9th grade level, language arts, which includes pre-writing, composing and editing at a post high school level, history and science at a 9.5 grade level. With the variety of levels of knowledge, how do I start homeschooling her? I do not want to use some thing considered "8th grade" when she is clearly above that level. Also how do I handle physical education and social experience. After having her in the public school system for 7 years I am afraid I will fail miserably at trying to home school her now. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Dianne

Julie:
Diane, It's normal to be nervous about homeschooling for the first time, but most parents do just fine. Since your daughter is so advanced for her grade, even if you were the worse homeschooling parent imaginable, she'd still be ahead! :) So, relax....it could really turn out to be a great experience for you and your daughter. You'll probably make some mistakes along the way...we all do, but it will be wonderful for your bright girl to be able to learn at her own pace.There's no reason you can't homeschool your daughter so that she's learning different subjects at whatever grade level is right for her in each subject.

There are many many different ways you could handle homeschooling her, and I want you to know that my ideas are just one way. If my suggestions don't suit your family for whatever reason, there are plenty of experienced homeschooling parents who can give you other good ideas.

Since she is already very advanced in language arts, you have a lot of choice. I think that learning how to write well is vitally important, so if she were my child, I would make sure that she gets a good bit of writing practice one way or another...you could buy a writing program but you don't necessarily have to. My book or others can give you lots of ideas for helping her continue to develop her writing skills.

• I would get a math program, and have her do a little math each school day. Saxon Math is very popular amongst homeschoolers.
• Your daughter could do the work without you even needing to know the math yourself, because the textbooks explain everything so well. Saxon's web site has a little test she can take to help you figure out which level of math book is best for her. There are other good math programs out there as well
• You could buy other curricula, like science, social studies, etc if you want to. Personally, I think it's much more fun (and they learn a lot more) to NOT use textbooks for these subj.
• You asked about how to handle social experiences when homeschooling. Unless you live in a really isolated place, you can probably find plenty of ways for your daughter to get together with other kids. Keep in mind that kids really dot need to be around big groups of kids...they just need a few friends, and need to learn to get along with people in everyday life.

Here's just a few ideas:

1. Get involved with a homeschooling group that has some kids around her age.
2. If you belong to a church that has good kids' programs (youth group, choir, etc) participating in those kid of things might be a good way for your daughter to meet other kids.
3. Maybe you could find a club or organization that does something she's interested in participating in, for instance, if she likes science, maybe there's a museum near you that has junior curator's club or something similar. That's just one example..My point is, you can help her find something she loves to do, and help her find a group of other kids to do it with.
4. Things like 4H club, girl scouts are great if she's interested.
5. Sometimes public libraries have book clubs for kids
   (especially during the summer.)

Are you interested in this book?

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